Solitary fibrous tumor of the pleura: a case report and review of the literature

Solitary fibrous tumor of the pleura [SFTP] is a rare mesenchymal cell tumor that can be benign or malignant. The best treatment of this tumor is a complete surgical resection. We present clinical and histopathologic characteristics of the 4 patients and their outcomes

Management and outcome of steroid-resistant nephrotic syndrome in children

Steroid-resistant nephrotic syndrome [SRNS] is uncommon in children, but often leads to ESRD. We report our experience with SRNS and its treatments and outcomes. We assessed 73 children with SRNS admitted to Ali Asghar Children Hospital in Tehran, Iran. Their clinical presentations, treatment, and disease courses were reviewed. The mean follow-up duration was 6.0 +/- 4.2 years. Moreover, survival times were calculated and the Cox regression method was used to determine variables able to predict survival of the kidneys. Age at the onset of the disease, sex, and hematuria were not predictive of the response to treatment with immunosuppressive drugs in the children with SRNS. The type of resistance [early or late] was associated with the responsiveness to immunosuppressives. Response to any of the immunosuppressive drugs determined the responsiveness to other immunosuppressive drugs. Cyclosporine was more effective than cyclophosphamide as initial therapy. The mean kidney survival time was 11.62 years. Kidney survival rates were 94.6%, 70.0%, 56.0%, and 34.0% at 1, 5, 10, and 15 years, respectively, in patients with initial resistance to steroid, while these were 100%, 100%, 83.0%, and 83.0% in those with late resistance, respectively [P = .03]. We showed that patients with late steroid resistance had better response to immunosuprressive drugs than patients with early resistance. We also showed that resistance to immunosuppressive therapies increased the risk of resistance to other immunosuppressive drugs. Achievement of complete or partial remission with any therapy reduced the risk of ESRD

Radiographic patterns in patients diagnosed with acute pulmonary emobolism

Pulmonary embolism [PE] results in significant morbidity and mortality. Due to lack of awareness among physicians in this regard or non-availability of objective tests the diagnosis of PE is difficult. Clinical features are nonspecific and all diagnostic tests have certain limitations. The purpose of this study was to evaluate chest radiographic findings in diagnosed cases of acute pulmonary embolism. We conducted a retrospective, chart review study on chest radiographs of all patients admitted to Masih Daneshvari Hospital in Tehran, Iran with a diagnosis of acute PE from April 2005 to February 2006. Fifty-one consecutive patients were diagnosed with acute pulmonary embolism by single detection CT scan, perfusion scan and echocardiography. Three radiologists interpreted the chest radiographs. We found only 2 normal chest radiographs [4%] and the other 48 [96%] were abnormal. The most common abnormalities were pleural effusion [60%], pulmonary artery enlargement [56%], and parenchymal pulmonary infiltration [54%]. Although chest radiography cannot be used for diagnosing or excluding PE, it contributes to non-invasive diagnostic assessment of PE through the exclusion of diseases that may mimic PE